What would you replace Heritage Park Mall with?

[Midtowner]

I think that not only MWC, but the entire OKC area would be served very well by an upscale red light district.

Little Amsterdam we'll call it.

[Drake]

I have heard from two different people about a rumor that Mathis Bros bought the Dillards for a furniture clearance outlet.

Bomber and some others might do some digging

[CuatrodeMayo]

Heritage Park Lake.

[OKC PATROL]

I think that not only MWC, but the entire OKC area would be served very well by an upscale red light district.

Little Amsterdam we'll call it.

420- "It's a Good Thing".- Martha Stewart

[Jonboyinget]

I agree nothing but good clean fun can come from a red light district. It would attract all kinds of interesting and exotic people to enjoy the finer things in life. If one thing it would help the economy and attract some tourism as well.
When I was in Paris the red light district attracted people of all ages, creed, and country. Although it was kind of strange being surrounded by people as old as my Grandparents during a cabaret with topless dancers serving food and prancing around in peacock feathers, it really did make me glad to experience such a wonderful place.

[bombermwc]

NIMBY! You want a red light district, no way in hell are you going to put it in MWC.

[Midtowner]

Bomber -- with a major military base just a short distance away, it'd be a huge hit.

These things don't have to be sleazy. If you've ever been to Paris or Amsterdam, you'd realize that.

-- But I realize, of course, this is not realistic. It's just fun to throw out an idea which is as ineffectual as anything else in this thread... as if I have any say on what gets developed there.

[Martin]

i'm sure the town of valleybrook would not be too pleased about such a development. -M

[Lauri101]

Bomber -- with a major military base just a short distance away, it'd be a huge hit.

These things don't have to be sleazy. If you've ever been to Paris or Amsterdam, you'd realize that.

With some of the people moving into my neighborhood in MWC lately, the red light district might make for better neighbors!

[Midtowner]

i'm sure the town of valleybrook would not be too pleased about such a development. -M

Too bad. They've had their opportunity to create a "nice" district. They have managed to cobble together a few skanky strip clubs and a speed trap. Next.

[bombermwc]

Well how about we think about something that doesn't involve a red light district and talk about something that actually has a chance to work.

And the next time someone suggests something like that, why dont you ask how you would feel if it were across the street from your house.

[Midtowner]

Well how about we think about something that doesn't involve a red light district and talk about something that actually has a chance to work.

And the next time someone suggests something like that, why dont you ask how you would feel if it were across the street from your house.

Yeah, because a professional developer is going to go to OKCTalk for pointers as to what to build there? Sure the suggestion is nonsense, but no less so than anything else which might be suggested in this thread.

But okay.. what we need is a 30-story oil rig with a scenic overlook surrounded by a botanical garden.

Better?

[Easy180]

omg...Midtowner..That would be a perfect place for picnics and just imagine how many senior citizen charter buses would stop by for a photo op...Throw in a couple of Luby's and a Golden Corral nearby and that place would be crazy

Awesome suggestion

[Rifleman2C]

"A lot of people do not realize that the intersection of Reno and Air Depot had some of the highest traffic counts in the city in 2004 with just under 30,000 cars per day, which is well above most retailers' minimum criteria, he said. The fundamentals are there. They just need to be presented better."

The whole mall has been just a bit on the clunky side from the beginning... even if it was based on the Sears on the corner plot (is that true?), the traffic pattern input/output was pretty inefficient, anyway.

With 30K vehicles passing that intersection in 2004, it is a testament to the idea of the mall that not too many have decided to stop by in the past three years.

Time to go with a new more 'approachable' approach.





Although, I'll bet Sears won't change a thing.

[soonerfaithful]

Well we now know what will be going into Dilliard's space.

Thu December 6, 2007
Church buys mall space

By Richard Mize
Real Estate Editor
If the Christian Gospel was meant to be distributed at the retail level, Edmond-based LifeChurch.tv's newest future campus is in a perfect place:
The former Dillard's at Heritage Park Mall in Midwest City.



Life Covenant Church Inc. bought the nearly 100,000-square-foot space — attached to the mall, not a freestanding building — this week. The church paid $1.5 million to Fred Mazaheri's Midland Capital LLC.

LifeChurch.tv, which has about a dozen campuses in Oklahoma and several other states, has no immediate plans for the space but eventually will open a church branch, said Bobby Gruenewald, pastor-innovation leader.

"We don't have a particular timeline or timeframe as to when we might start or when we might open,” he said, noting that news of the property acquisition will whet east-area members' desire for a meeting space.

It's not the church's first former retail location. LifeChurch.tv's south Oklahoma City campus is in leased former store space at 7800 S Walker Ave., an Oklahoma City campus is in leased space in a former Wal-Mart at 5821 Northwest Expressway, and a campus in Fort Worth, Texas, is in a former movie theater attached to a strip center, Gruenewald said.

The congregation, part of the Evangelical Covenant Church, constructed buildings for campuses at 2001 NW 178 and in Stillwater. The church also has campuses at 7015 E 41st Street in Tulsa and in Mesa, Ariz., Wellington, Fla., Albany, N.Y., and Hendersonville, Tenn. The main church is at 4600 E Second Street in Edmond.

When it comes to real estate, "we've done a little bit (of) everything” to start new campuses, Gruenewald said. "We look at the most effective use for our dollars. Buying and leasing property (is usually) more cost-effective than building.”

LifeChurch.tv will bring new life to Heritage Park Mall, but not the kind most mall owners are looking for, said Mark Inman, the broker with CB Richard Ellis-Oklahoma who represented the church in the transaction.

An open, functioning space beats a dark, abandoned space, he said, but it probably won't mean a business boon for the rest of the mall, which has been struggling for years. Managers for the mall's out-of-state owners could not immediately be reached.

The church will renovate and improve the space, however, which will help the overall appearance of the property, Inman said.

Dillard's closed its Heritage Park Mall location in February. The mall owners, who were not involved in the sale of the separate Dillard's property, probably would have preferred another big anchor store, Inman said.

The mall owners' plans for improvements remain in place, according to the mall's Web site.

In one place, the Web site also says: "We have many unique locally owned stores where you are likely to find exactly what you are looking for.”

But in another place, under several lease specials, the site says: "Retailers Needed. Heritage Park Mall seeks a variety of retailers: Apparel, Restaurants, Music & Movies, Novelty & Gifts, Specialty Stores.”

With Dillard's now gone and the old Montgomery Ward space long empty, Sears is the mall's last remaining anchor, Inman said.

Someone posted memories of Heritage Park Mall on the "Dead Malls” Web site — deadmalls.com — in April 2006. LifeChurch.tv won't resurrect the mall, Inman said.

"It's a user for a piece of real estate that probably would have sat for a long time,” he said.

[bombermwc]

I was sure hoping they would take something like the old WalMart instead of the mall. I'd rather see the mall torn down.

[cowzrul]

I like #2 as well. I could see a smaller movie theater with some the remaining space an outdoor strip mall and Sears doing a face-lift to become stand-alone. Anything that creates JOBS...the more the better! As it stands the mall doesn't employ very many people and MWC needs good paying jobs to truly live up to the "East is In" statement.

[bombermwc]

Someone told me recently that the old rumors of turning it into a Shepard Mall type facility (office space) was becoming more a reality now. That with the box stores all gone (Except Sears which could stand alone easily), that they were really looking to do this.

I think as long as they don't charge mall prices for space, it would work great. Remodel the interior for that type of use and it would meet a VERY big need for office space in MWC. Not to mentin that they could create a real Food Court for the employees in the space too.

[ewoodard]

Why not keep one half retail and open the other half up to commercial office space or clinics for dentists, chiropractors, massage/physical therapy, etc...
I think with the buildin on 29th that the reno/air depot area needs to be updated, but not with bike tracks or the like. We need more business income for the city.

[Oh GAWD the Smell!]

Well we now know what will be going into Dilliard's space.

Thu December 6, 2007
Church buys mall space

By Richard Mize
Real Estate Editor
If the Christian Gospel was meant to be distributed at the retail level, Edmond-based LifeChurch.tv's newest future campus is in a perfect place:
The former Dillard's at Heritage Park Mall in Midwest City.



Life Covenant Church Inc. bought the nearly 100,000-square-foot space — attached to the mall, not a freestanding building — this week. The church paid $1.5 million to Fred Mazaheri's Midland Capital LLC.



.....

Oh man...Talk about 1 stop shopping....So....Many....Jokes....So....Little... Time...


*pop*

[bombermwc]

If anyone has been blind lately, since 29th has really taken off, pretty much every other strip mall in MWC has undergone major renovations to update their look. Air Depot, 15th, etc. Most recently I noticed that the Lockheed area was getting a facelift again. I think everyone got the message that they would have to pony up some cash to compete.

Now it's Heritage's turn...and adding those signs out by the street was a move in the wrong direction...they look horrible. What they need to do is make the damned decision to stop being retail and either bulldoze the crap or convert it. Stop letting it just sit there sending money down the toilet. I mean even the lights in the parking lot aren't all working anymore. And when was the last time anyone went IN the mall to shop??????

[NE Oasis]

If anyone has been blind lately, since 29th has really taken off, pretty much every other strip mall in MWC has undergone major renovations to update their look. Air Depot, 15th, etc.

Now it's Heritage's turn... either bulldoze the crap or convert it.

And for a lesson in how NOT to do it, see the old K-Mart at Reno and Sooner

[Lauri101]

That whole side of town is an embarassment, from Sooner to Midwest Blvd.

Until the MWC Council starts passing some code regarding appearance, landscaping and signage, and make it retroactive, we'll continue to have eyesores like Anthony's, HPM and vacant lots on Midwest Blvd. For goodness sake, a little paint and a few trees wouldn't be that damn hard!

[bombermwc]

Well in Anthony's defense, they were trying to go for a unified look to their signage that they didn't have at their old location. I think the neon looks better than the huge rectangular K-Mart/Venture signs did. And at least they moved to MWC instead of going out to Reno or something. It kept MWC from having yet another empty big-box store.

And if you didn't know, Mr. Anthoy lives in the upstairs portion of the building just as he did in the old location. Notice how they added his balcony up there too? Most of the upstairs residence area used to be offices/breakroom for the retail stores. I don't know if he bought the place or if he leases it like K-Mart did. In that case, we should be blaming the leaseing company for the appearance of the building.

[MRG73110]

I think bulldozing HPM and turning it into a gated 'exclusive' nieghborhood is a much better idea than a Church TV studio that only takes money from those who can least afford it and then purchase a $1.5M building just to sit on it. How do we stop this chaos? Lets get it rezoned and get rid of the anticipation.